So today I'm going to share a short message about Thanksgiving.
When I think about this topic, I think there's a lot of things come to my mind what Thanksgiving is about.
And one of the things that I, the more I think about the way that we give thanks,
it actually points us to our Christ-centeredness.
The more we give thanks, the actually, the more we will center our lives in Christ.
So this is the big idea.
So there's no better time for us to actually give thanks to God in the end of this year.
God has done a lot of things in our lives, including some of the people we share.
And I'll be honest, if you give thanks and you give thanks properly,
I think it will increase the Christ-centeredness in our lives.
Okay?
But in the Bible, what are we talking about when we talk about Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is described pervasively through the Bible.
In the New Testament, there are roughly 72 places where Thanksgiving is being mentioned and being articulated
in the form of the words like thankful, grateful, or giving thanks.
And in the Old Testament, there are 102 times that Thanksgiving has been actually presented to us.
Largely, it's from the book of Psalms.
So if you look at Psalms 104 to 5, which is on the screen,
it summarizes what Thanksgiving to God is about.
So the psalmist repeatedly called the people of Israel to thank the Lord on two things.
The first thing is his loving kindness.
And the second thing is his miraculous work among the people of Israel.
How do we give thanks usually?
If I be honest with you, sometimes we give thanks without any passion.
So we give thanks like, although we give thanks, our heart is very distant from God.
So we give thanks for our meals.
Okay, thank God for this meal.
But we need to ask ourselves some hard questions.
Are you actually grateful to the food on the table?
Why not, if not?
So I think that's the thing that I'm thinking.
Sometimes our thankgiving is quite repetitive and mechanical.
And it doesn't have that heartfelt thanksgiving attitude.
So if you look at the Psalms 147, verse 1.
The psalmist described this quite well.
He said,
He sings to the Lord with grateful praise.
Make music to our God to the harp.
So what does it mean?
How does it look like when you carry that attitude and trying to give thanks before your meals?
I would suggest something like this.
In addition to our gratitude to God's providence,
we joyfully thank God for creating such a delicious food.
God, thank you for the ice cream.
Thank you for the barbecue pork.
So let your heart be joyful when you really give thanks to God,
rather than a mechanical, repetitive way of giving thanks.
That's point number one.
What about the New Testament?
The New Testament also talks about thanksgiving.
Especially I pick a passage in 1 Thessalonians 5.18.
There Paul actually explains thanksgiving in a profound way.
So God's will for us is rejoicing, praying, and giving constantly.
These are commands that are interdependent on each other.
What does it mean?
It means that rejoicing comes out of giving thanks.
The more thankful you are, the more joyful and prayerful you will be.
So what does it look like when Paul encourages us to give thanks in all circumstances?
I'll look at it in two angles.
One is when we are at a very good time.
The second one is when we are actually in a time where we are facing some challenges and difficulties in life.
Let's look at it in these two angles.
When good things are happening in our lives, giving thanks seems to be very natural.
But do we realize the ways and attitude in which we give thanks to God make a big difference in growing our Christ-centeredness?
We say we give thanks.
We are thankful for such and such things happening in our lives.
When a child was admitted to a school, we give thanks.
We are thankful.
When we got a job or we got a promotion, we are thankful.
But what are we actually thankful for?
When we thank the gifts without thinking about the giver, we will put our faith into the wrong place.
That's the...
Imagine when the father gives toys to his son.
The child is so thankful for the toys, very happy.
When he only focuses on the toys, not the father who gives the toys.
The excitement on the toys dissipates very quickly.
And the thankfulness will dissipate together with it.
On the other hand, when the son turns his thankfulness to his father for the toys,
the excitement continues even.
He gets bored with the toys because he knows that there are some more toys coming on his way.
So that's the difference between when we actually give thanks to the gifts rather than the giver.
When we give thanks to God himself, the giver, it draws our attention to him.
The goodness of the giver always sticks with us more than the gifts.
We tend to remember the giver, not the gifts.
Just like the son, an example I show.
And when we actually know that who is the giver that gives us this job, or gives us this school,
or gives us this relationship, we look at these things differently.
Because God never provides you something without a purpose.
God never gives you something randomly.
Okay.
So in other words, when you actually identify that the giver is the important focus,
we know that whatever we receive has a purpose on it.
For instance, if you receive a job, you get a job promotion.
If you know the giver is God, it points you to how you do the job.
You do it differently from you actually do it as if this is a random thing happening in your life.
So focusing on your thanksgiving on God will help you to actually receive the gift
and carry out what God wants you to do in that gift.
Make sense?
Okay.
The other end goals I want to look at is the bad times, which is a little bit more challenging.
How will we actually give thanks when things are not happening in the way that we want it?
Perhaps in a year like Joshua, losing his job, right?
So some of us may be becoming jobless this year.
Some of us may be breaking up a relationship with a girlfriend and boyfriend.
And some of us may have persistent health issues.
And some of us may be having a very difficult boss to work with.
Okay.
In those situations, is it even possible to give thanks?
And my answer to you is that it's not only possible, but also transformational.
So I would like to use this passage to encourage each one of us.
James 1, verse 2 to 4.
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.
When we look at our disappointment, failures, and even sufferings, we are often led to think along the line,
what have we done wrong, what have we done wrong, that God is allowing this and that happening in our lives.
Or is it mere bad luck?
It is not exactly what James encouraged us to think.
On the contrary, James is telling us to rejoice.
Think about Captain America.
It is invincible.
This is exactly what this verse is about.
But how does it look like in real life?
Let's explore a little bit on this.
No one will enjoy disappointment, isn't it?
No one will enjoy failures or suffering.
What is James trying to say here?
I think the key phrase in that verse is considerate.
So the path of joy is the phase considerate.
So it means that there is something that we need to think through
in the midst of our disappointment, failure, and suffering
in order to produce that kind of joy that James is talking about.
Okay.
And then the second question you would ask,
what are we going to consider?
Okay.
I think of two things.
One is to consider a bigger picture.
The second one is consider that God is shaping you through your circumstances.
Okay.
When we look at things happening in our lives,
we are so drawn to fixate on the outcome.
When the outcome does not come the way that we want,
we are easily disappointed,
and our hearts grumble.
We refuse to see beyond the circumstances
for the greater good God is producing.
I remember I asked a friend,
hey, in your midst of these challenges,
can you consider this and this?
But people tend to resist that idea,
tend to refuse to accept that idea.
So, I remember when I was in college,
I prayed for, you know Michael Chang?
I prayed for Michael Chang, the tennis player in Taiwan,
or America,
to win the Grand Slam match.
Okay.
And I'm one of his fans.
He was a good Christian,
always glorifying God after winning the match,
and an excellent tennis prayer.
This seems to me a legitimate ask of God
to help him win.
So, I asked, I prayed.
Then I happened to know that there's a good brother of mine
who is praying for Stephen Adbert.
is Chang's opponent on that same match to win.
So, what was God going to do with our prayers?
What do you think?
So, I think the point I want to illustrate
is not the silliness of this ask,
but to point out the fact that we often see things
through the lens of our own interests.
We never look at other people's interests.
We always see things in our interests.
I always want Michael Chang to win.
Right?
And God is looking at the big picture.
Okay?
And he is causing all things to work for good
for those who love him.
Romans 28.28.
Wherever we experience disappointment and suffering,
could be the very blessing that God is using it
to bless someone else.
Right?
So, when we look at the big picture,
probably,
we will actually have some sense of what God is doing.
So, there are a few examples in the Old Testament
or New Testament on this.
A very famous story about Joseph.
Joseph.
Right?
Joseph was actually put into slavery by their brother.
Sailed into slavery by their brother.
Instead of growing bitter and giving up,
he lived a God-honoring life in the palace of Egypt.
What was actually in his mind,
we may be able to see the hint at the response
he made to his brother when there's a famine
and their family come to his palace to ask for help.
He considered the suffering he induced as a means
for God to work for the good of his family.
He was put there to save his family from the famine.
So, he is looking beyond his own circumstances.
For a greater good.
Another very, very important example is Jesus himself.
Look at Jesus himself.
He is looking beyond his suffering
to the joy of our salvation,
which empower him to endure
the cross and shame associated with it.
In Hebrew 12.2,
the author encouraged us to endure the suffering
by looking to Jesus as an example.
What does it say?
Let us run with endurance,
the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand
of the throne of God.
So, some of you know that I have a brother,
an elder brother.
I need to take care of him
because he is
kind of disabled.
He has always been in my
heart to share the gospel with him.
But his life seems to be
moving further, further away
from believing in God
and going from bad to worse.
A few years back,
he experienced a stroke
causing by excessive use of alcohol,
and his left arm
was partially paralyzed.
His memory has been impacted a bit,
meaning that he cannot remember things quickly.
But his thinking is fully functional.
His wife and daughter left him
after this instance.
And you can imagine that
his life is basically
turning upside down.
Right?
And during the recovery process
of the stroke,
I was struggling to take care of him as well
because I was under
a very demanding job,
traveling all the time.
Our conversation was getting
more direct
on the gospel.
Talking about life and death,
really direct.
Meaning and purpose,
regrets and sin.
There were a lot of seemingly
hopeless and crying moments
in that few years.
But I felt that these were
the work of the Holy Spirit
in both myself and him.
So virtually,
his heart
was somehow open
to the gospel.
He saw himself
a great sinner
that is beyond forgiveness.
He knew that
he could not pay back
anything that
pay back anything
to his wife
and his daughter.
and in his despair,
God showed him
that he could be forgiven
regardless of his past.
And this become
a very important message
to him
and later on
led him to
come to Christ.
He was,
he eventually
put his trust in Christ
and be baptized
afterwards.
And this is
from his own saying,
if there were no
stroke,
there is no
Christ in me.
I think the big picture
of this suffering
is that God
was using a stroke
to help him
to see his need
for forgiveness.
I think this is
worth to thank for.
The second thing
to consider,
sorry about
too serious.
The second thing
to consider
when it comes to
Thanksgiving
in our bad times
is that
failure,
disappointment
and suffering
shape and grow
our faith.
Right?
We read it before.
In James
1, 2 to 4.
For you know that
the testing
of your faith
produces
steadfastness
and that
steadfastness
have its
full effect.
that you may be
perfect
and complete
lacking
in nothing.
So how does
it actually work?
Just want to
point you back
to the story
of my brother.
After he
became a Christian,
not everything
is good.
Actually,
a lot of
challenges
during the
process
of discipling
him.
His faith
journey
is basically
defined
by
worries
and fears.
And discipling
him is a
very tough
period for
me
because
it's over
a long
period of
time
and it's
constantly
week by week
discipling.
I would
honestly say
that I
don't want
to visit
my brother
because
every time
I visit
him there's
a grumbling
and complaining
and you
can tell my
wife,
ask my
wife,
she keep
praying for
me every
time.
life.
But as I
disciple my
brother,
one thing
I find
that God
is reviewing
to myself
my own
fraud
through
understanding
what my
brother's
fraud is.
I see
myself
in my
brother.
We are
same
mother,
same
father.
We carry
similar
blood,
carry
similar
upbringing.
So that
actually
resonates a
lot of
me on
his
challenge.
What he
needs from
God's mercy
is also my
needs for
God's mercy.
And I'm
so thankful
that I
understand more
about myself
by looking at
my brother.
the second
thing which
is very,
very thankful
is that I
start to
learn how
to take
care of
people that
are in
need.
The
billion ways
I use
to counsel
people with
good reasons.
All this
strategy
doesn't work
with my
brother.
He doesn't
understand.
it doesn't
stick with
him.
He just
need me
to be
there.
I recall
many moments
that I
am
frustrated
and
really
becoming
a few
a little bit
hopeless
how to
help him.
right?
And
almost
every time
the Holy
Spirit
will
give me
words
to say
to my
brothers.
Sometimes
it's
strange.
The words
come out
to me
are silly
words
but to
my
brother
he
resonated
a lot.
That's why
I see that
this is from
the Holy
Spirit.
it's not
for me.
What I
think I
am
clever on
trying to
do
reasoning
doesn't
work
with my
brother.
I'm so
thankful that
God is
humbling me
and comforting
me
in this
way
so that I
will be able
to comfort
others.
It also
reminds me
Paul's
own
testimony
in 2
Corinthians
1
4
God
will comfort
us in
all our
affection
so that
we may
be able
to comfort
those
who are
in any
affliction
with the
comfort
with which
we ourselves
are comforted
by God.
So
I'm so
thankful that
I went
through this
experience
and also
think about
the topic
of
thanksgiving.
This is
worth for
us to
give thanks
even in
bad times.
One final
point.
Sorry.
One final
point.
In
Colossians
chapter 1
12 to
14
Paul
encouraged
the believers
to thank
God the
Father
for the
salvation
through
redemption
work of
his
Son.
Now
this
thanksgiving
does not
depend on
any
circumstances.
So
the
word
say
giving
thanks
to
the
Father
who
has
qualified
you
to
share
in
the
inheritance
of
the
saints
in
light.
He
has
delivered
us
from
the
domain
of
darkness
and
transferred
us
to
the
kingdom
of
his
beloved
Son
in
whom
we
have
redemption
the
forgiveness
of
sins.
So
it is
another
way
of
saying
we
give
thanks
to
God
for
adopting
us
as
his
children
saving
us
from
his
death
and
giving
us
an
eternal
life
and
forgiving
us
our
sins.
But
we
often
overlook
one
very
important
thing
is
the
gift
of
all
gifts
from
God
his
only
begotten
son
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ
Jesus
said
very
famous
that
he
is
the
way
the
truth
and
the
life
no
one
comes
to
the
father
except
through
me
in
other
words
he
is
not
only
the
giver
of
all
things
but
also
the
gift
himself
I
found
what
pastor
John
Piper
if
you
know
him
said
one
of
the
in
his
writing
articulate
this
very
well
which
I
want
to
communicate
with
you
ultimately
the
aim
of
God's
work
redemption
is
not
that
through
Christ
we
may
have
salvation
but
that
through
salvation
we
may
have
Christ
the
all
satisfying
treasure
we
need
to
ask
ourselves
these
questions
do
we
treasure
Christ
as
a
person
or
we
always
look
at
the
gifts
do
we
treasure
Christ
as
a
person
do
we
love
him
do
we
do
what
he
is
pleasing
to
him
do
we
long
for
him
do
we
long
for
his
second
coming
do
we
long
for
the
coming
of
Christ
so
I
encourage
all of
us
including
myself
in
2025
let's
our
thanksgiving
center
on
Christ
always
the
giver
of
all
things
whether
this
is a
good
time
or
bad
times
let
us
pray
father
god
thank
you
for
your
message
thank
you
for
helping
me
to
say
the
things
that
I
want
to
say
thank
you
for
the
congregation
thank
you
for
brother
and
sister
here
may
your
holy
spirit
work
in
each
one
of
us
that
we
take
home
an
important
message
of
the
gift
of
Jesus
Christ
in
our
lives
in
Jesus
name
we
pray
amen
we
pray
we
have
some
of
our
heart
we
have
you
are
die
we
who
amer
our
��
our